Direction switch for vehicle lighting circuits



Oct. 9, 1951 J. R. HOLLINS 2,570,811

DIRECTION SWITCH FOR VEHICLE LIGHTING CIRCUITS Original Filed Dec. 24, 1948 .u 10' mun 3 m l FLASHER 3o IN VEN TOR. JESSE 12v ADLL 1N5 ATTORNEY Patented Oct. 9, 1951 STAT ES? PAT E N T O FF] CE DIRECTION SWITCH FOR VEHICLE LIGHTING CIRCUITS 3 Claims. 1-.

invention relates: to a control switch for vehicle lightingcircuits. and, more. particularly. to a control switch for vehicle clearance. or marker lamps; and effectivetor, condition such lamps to actas; flashing; directional signals. or as flashing emergency stop lights or torcondition the lamps for; steady illumination as. vehicle width indicators; this; being a division of my; application SerialiNo: 67,149, filed. December 24,1948, now Batent No;v 2,515,604.

In accordance witntherequirements-of various State-highway laws, commercial vehicles of sizes above. a. preset maximum height, length, width orcapacity are required to be equipped with marker lampson the sideszof the body of the truck and/o1: trailer. These-lamps are known as clearance-lightsand serve to indicate particularly the extreme widthroi the vehicle toapproaching or overtaking traffic. Generally, such lamps are placed. atthe upper and lower front. and rear corners of the. vehicle and at the midsection of the corner posts.v

The-present inventionprovid'es a novel control switch whereby such-clearancelamps may be illuminated steadily to serve as clearance indicators, may beselectively flashed toserve as turn indicators, or, may. all beflashed to serve as an emergency, Stop Warning. The. cost of installation is low as the switch is designed toutilize existing lampcircuits and, furthermore, the switch operation is substantially foolproof; The switch may be utilizedfordirectional or emergency stop indications iirthe daylightwhenthe clearance lamps normally are not illuminated To indicate the selected operation. of the lights, suitable pilot lamps are incorporated in the control switch.

It is accordingly among the'objects of this invention to provide'a'novel, multi-selection control switch and associatedcontrolcircuits for vehicle indicator lamps.

lrnotlierobject is to'provi'de such a switch capable of selectively lighting vehicle clearance lamps as steady clearance indicators, as flashing turn-indicators,.or.'aszfiashing emergency stop indicators.

A further object is to-provide such a switch having a night-time operating position and a daytime operating position.

These, and other objects, advantages and novel features of? the invention will be apparent from the following description and the accompanying drawing. In the drawing;

Fig;v 1 is a schematic wiring diagram of a vehicle lighting'control system embodying the invention;

Fig. 2 isa plan-view-of one form-of thecontrol swltchyand Fig. 3 is a side elevation of theswitch of Figz 2.

Referring to the drawing, Fig. l illustratesthe control switch. 10 of the invention as applied to lighting circuits controlling the illumination of sets of clearance lamps 30 and 30 disposed, respectively on the right and leftv sides of the-vehicle. All of the lamps 38 and 30' have one terminal connected to ground as at 35 or a common ground.

Switch H! has a central terminal or contact [I which is connected to one terminal of thevehicle battery 12, the other battery terminalbeing grounded, inthe usual manner, as at [3. Terminal l l is mounted on an insulating base plate l4, and acts as a pivot center for the switchcontact arm 15. Arm i5 is formed with elongated, radial contacts it, I6 with contact l6.shown schematically as having a night operating handle l] on its outer end, and contact 16' as having a day operating handle ll. on its outer end. A pair of shorter contacts l8, l8 project from pivot contact I I, in laterally spaced relation to eachother and parallel to contact [6.

Base plate l4 carries a pair of contacts 2|, 21 arranged to be engaged by contacts l8, [8! espectively, when night handle. l1- is v at operating position 19 as shown in full lines inFig. 1: of the drawing. Conductors 22, 22 connect. contacts 2i, 2| to lamps 30, 30, respectively, and constitute the steady illumination circuit for. both right side lamps 30 and leftside lampsiiu. It will be noted that in the daytime position-of the switch with day handle H at operating position I9, contacts 2!, 2| are not connected to central contact l l and the lamps 30, 30 are normally not illuminated.

Plate l4 also carries a second pair of contacts 23, 23' arranged for engagement by contacts IS, IS and these contacts are connectedby conduce tors 24, 24 to each of a third pair of contacts 28, 26 also arranged for cooperation with contacts [6, I6. A conductor 2'! connects contact 26 to one terminal of apilot lamp 20 and a schematically indicated flasher unit 25, each having its other terminal connected to conductor 22 and switch contact 2|. Similarly, pilot 1amp .20., and flasher unit 25 are connected to conductor 22 and to contact 25 through conductor 21'.

The operation of switch H! is as follows. In the solid line position shown in Fig. 1, both sets of lamps 38, 30 are steadily illuminated and pilot lamps 20, 2!! are extinguished. This is the nor mal, night-time position of the switch. To inclicate a left turn of the vehicle, arm I5 is moved one step counterclockwise. In this position, contact l8 engages contact 2| so that the steadyilluminationof right side lamps 30 1s maintained: Con- 3 tact 2| is disconnected, and contact I6 engages contact 23.

Left side lamps 30' are now energized through flasher 25, and flash ofi and on to indicate the turn. Pilot lamp flashes alternately on and oif in reverse relation to the operation of flasher A corresponding effect takes place when arm I5 is moved one step clockwise from the illustrated, solid line position to indicate a right turn of the vehicle.

Should the vehicle be stopped in an emergency, a flashing warning signal by all of the lamps 30, can be given. In this case arm I5 is swung 90 degrees in either direction so that arms I 6, I 6 engage contacts 25, 26, and arms I8, I8 do not engage any contacts. Both sets of lamps 30, 30' are energized through flashers 25, 25' with pilot lamps 20, 20' flashing in alternate relation to the closure of the flashers.

For daytime operation, arm I 5 is swung 180 degrees to the dotted line position with handle I? at position I9. In th off position, none of the contacts 2|, 2I', 23, 23', 26 or 26 is connected to live contact II. However, when arm i5 is moved to the left or right position, the directional signal effect is provided. in the same manner as described. Similarly, the arm I5 can be moved to the 90 emergency position to flush all of the clearance lamps.

Figs. 2 and 3 illustrate one form which switch i0 may assume in practice. Pilot lamps 26, 26' are mounted in sockets 3!, 3i. Contacts I6, I6 comprise-oppositely extending radial sections 32, 32' joined to or integral with arcuate sections 33, 33 respectively. The contacts IS, IS integral arcuate sections 34, 35 joined to contact II by a radial arm 36. The conductors of the lamp circuits, and flashers 25, 25 are mounted beneath plate I4 and connected to the proper contacts.

The control switch it provides a compact unit easily adaptable to existing lamp circuits to provide for use of clearance lamp-s as directional or emergency flashing signals while retaining the steady illumination feature for normal clearance indication.

While specific embodiments of the invention have been shown and described to illustrate the application of the principles thereof, it should be understood that the invention may be otherwise embodied without departing from such principles.

What is claimed is:

1. A vehicle lighting control switch comprising, in combination, an insulated base plate, a switch arm rotatably mounted on said base and carrying a pair of diametrically aligned first contacts on opposite sides of its axis and a pair of circumferentially aligned second contacts in circ-umferentially spaced relation to, on either side of, and radially inward of one of said first contacts; a pair of first contact means, on said plate, said first contact means being circumferentially spaced a distance equal to the circumferential spacing of said second contacts and simultaneously engageable by said second contacts; a pair of circumferentially spaced second contact means, on said plate and radially outward of said first contact means, one of which is engageable by one of said first contacts when one of said second contacts is engaged with a first contact means and the other second contact is disengaged from the other first contact means; and a third pair of contact means, diametrically aligned on said plate radially outward of said first contact means and simultaneously engageable by comprise 4 said first contacts when both second contacts are disengaged from said first contact means.

2. A vehicle lighting control switch comprising,- in combination, an insulated base plate, a switch arm rotatably mounted on said base and carrying a pair of diametrically aligned first contacts on opposite sides of its axis and a. pair of circumferentially aligned second contacts in circumferentially spaced relation to, on either side of, and radially inward of one of said first contacts; a pair of first contact means, on said plate, said first contact means being circumferentially spaced a distance equal to the circumferential spacing of said second contacts and simultaneously engageable by said second contacts; a pair of circumferentially spaced second contact means, on said plate and radially outward of said first contact means, one of which is engageable by one of said first contacts when one of said second contacts is engaged with a first contact means and the other second contact is disengaged from the other first contact means; a third pair of contact means, diametrically aligned on said plate radially outward of said first contact means and simultaneously engageable by said first contacts when both second contacts are disengaged from said first contact means, and conductive means connecting one and the otherof said second contact means repectively with one and the other of said third contact means.

3. A vehicle lighting control switch comprising, in combination, an insulated base plate, a switch arm rotatably mounted on said base and carrying a pair or" diametrically aligned first contacts on opposite sides of its axis and a pair of circumferentially aligned second contacts in circumferentially spaced relation to, on either side of, and radially inward of one of said first contacts; a pair of first contact means, on said plate, said first contact means being circumferentially spaced a distance equal to the circumferential spacing of said second contacts and simultaneously engageable by said second contacts; a pair of circumferentially spaced second contact means, on said plate and radially outward of said first contact means, one'of which is engageable by one of said first contacts when one of said second contacts is engaged with a first contact means and the other second contact is disengaged from the other first contact means; a third pair of contact means, diametrically aligned on said plate radially outward of said first contact means and simultaneously engageable by said first contacts when both second contacts are disengaged from said first contact means; conductive means connecting one and the other or" said second contact means respectively with one and the other of said third contact means; and a pair of circuit interrupters conductively connected respectively with one and the other of said third contact means.

JESSE R. HOLLINS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 

